He was great man and prince, with great potential and virtue. Another person whose virtue parallels that of Hamlet was Laertes, the son one of the Courtiers in Claudious’s court. Both of these men also share the trait of impulsiveness, achieving spontaneous reactions when angered. In Laertes this revealed in his return to Ellisenore after his father’s death. He returns with fire in his veins and revenge seething from his breath ready to kill the king. “To Hell, Allegiance! Vows, to blackest devil!”. In Hamlet this is seen in his rash reaction in stabbing Polonious with his rapier. In thinking it was the king behind the aras, he lashes out and kills Polonious. In both cases the men have been willing to commit regicide in order to attain revenge for the loss of a father.
Both Laertes and Hamlet firmly associate themselves with their families. Laetres highly respects his father and loves him very much. Similarly Hamlets conveys this by comparing his father to “Hyperion” a sun god. “This visitation Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose” They both share a strong but different love for Ophelia. Laertes departing of advice onto Ophelia concerning her relations with Hamlet can be explained as a wish for safety, emotions and virtue which he considers to be at threat by Hamlet, ”But you must fear, his greatness weighed, his will is not his own”. With Hamlet it can be clearly seen in the scene of Ophelia’s funeral where he declares his love for her and his distress of the departure of her soul, “forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make my sum!”. Just before this both Hamlet and Laertes jump in her grave for a scuffle, without even a consideration. This is also an example of the two characters rashness.
In comparing Hamlet to the other youths of the play, Horatio and Fortinbras we find two predominating traits come to air. Horatio the scholar, a man of thought and intellect. Fortinbras the soldier, a man of action and pride.
Horatio is the scholar who sees the world through the eyes of a scholar. Views things with cool and logical manner. Everyone recognizes this. When the ghost appeared before him and the other men, they urge him to talk to the ghost. In this there is double plot as it asserts Horatio's intelligence and it proves that Hamlet is not just seeing things.
Throughout the story, Horatio is continuously shown as the voice of reason and clarity. He is the authority figure and it is through him that we see the truth behind the actions of Hamlet and the others. Horatio is the outside observer to the play and it is a result of his words and actions that we can ground the play in reality. Ever since the beginning of the play, Horatio is shown to be a voice of cautious reason and measured skepticism along with a voice of truth, for it was not until he saw the ghost that the ghost became a reality. This idea is clearly portrayed atop the battlements when Horatio says “Before my God, I might not this believe/ without the sensible and true avouch/ of mine own eyes.”(I.i.56-58). Here Horatio confirms that he is the “narrator” of the play and the most sensible observer. However no matter what, Horatio is still Hamlet’s friend and despite his calm mindedness, at the end...
Throughout the play, Laertes is as an extremely caring member of his family. His strong emotions for family have an opposing side to it, a shadow that has repressed feelings of anger which cause him to add to the disaster in Denmark. An example that depicts this is when Laertes attempts to request more rites for Ophelia’s funeral. After he is denied, he starts a commotion by calling the priest “churlish”, explaining that Ophelia will be “A ministering angel” while the priest will “liest howling”(5.1.217-218). His compliments to Ophelia shows how much he loved her, while his nasty insults to the priest show his repressed rage. While this is occuring, Hamlet hears Laertes’s mention of Ophelia during the commotion and throws himself into a brawl with Laertes. It is the conflict built up from there that causes Claudius to target Laertes as his next weapon to kill Hamlet with. Laertes’s deep anger for Hamlet makes himself the best candidate for Claudius’s manipulation. Once Laertes’s sides with Claudius, he shows his dark intent by requesting Claudius to not “o'errule me to a peace”(4.7.58). On the day of the duel, Laertes undergoes a confrontation of his shadow while he clashes with Hamlet. His realization of his shadow comes too late into the duel when both Hamlet and Laertes are struck by poison, as this happens he declares that he is “ justly killed with mine own treachery (5.2.337).” In the moments that he is still alive, he dismisses his shadow and ends the circle of murder by announcing the true nature of Claudius. Laertes’s repressed anger guides the play into the duel where many deaths occur including Hamlet’s.
The whole story of Hamlet would not have unraveled as it had were it not for Horatio. Hamlet’s quest for revenge stems from his encounter with his father’s ghost; however it was Horatio who, after seeing the ghost for himself, thought to “impart what we have seen tonight/ Unto young Hamlet…” (I.i.185-86). At the meeting with Hamlet in which Horatio and his friends arrive to tell Hamlet about the ghost, Horatio is set up to be the protagonist’s confidant for the remainder of the play. Hamlet corrects Horatio’s comment that he is Hamlet’s “poor servant ever” by saying, “Sir, my good friend. I’ll change that with you” (I.ii.168-69). Later Horatio solidifies his position as a major character by accepting Hamlet’s request to help him “Observe my uncle” for any suspicious actions during the Murder of Gonzago (III.ii.85). At this point in the play, Hamlet’s trust for Horatio has dev...
Many characters in the play have confidence in Horatio because of his trustworthiness. Horatio is very trustworthy, and not only in the way that he can keep a secret if needed, but he is honorable and keeps his word, and is honest to himself, showing integrity. Here, Horatio shows this trait by revealing to Hamlet that Hamlet’s father’s ghost had appeared.
William Shakespeare wrote about a distraught prince trying to avenge the wrongful death of his father while all his faith in honesty and the good of man was nearly destroyed. In his play Hamlet, Hamlet is the prince and he is the one who would have lost all his faith in the good of man had it not been for his loyal friend Horatio. Many critics say that Horatio did not play such an important role in the tragedy, that he merely was the informant for the audience and that his character was not developed beyond that fact that he was just the honest confidant of Hamlet. That may be true, however, Horatio does serve two central purposes to the drama, and it is through these purposes that show the qualities that make Horatio memorable and admirable. Horatio is the harbinger of truth. It is through Horatio that the actions taken by Hamlet gain credibility. He is the outside observer to the madness. Hamlet could soliloquize on and on, but it is his conversations with Horatio that gives sanity to Hamlet’s thoughts. His second role is to be the loyal, truthful confidant of Hamlet.
Laertes holds the most important role as a foil to Hamlet. He represents the rage that boils within Hamlet and the revenge which he seeks. In many ways Laertes mirrors Hamlet's character. Their anger is precipitated through the same source, the untimely death of their fathers. Other similarities between the two men include the love that they both felt for Ophelia, and the heartfelt sorrow which they displayed upon her tragic death. The differences between Hamlet and Laertes become obvious as the two characters are played off of each other. Both men are the dutiful sons of their father's. However Leartes is portrayed as the well-breed son, while Hamlet's character is played down to that of a more peculiar type commoner who possesses few royal qualities. Although both men are students, Leartes prefers to indulges in a Parisian type lifestyle, whereas Hamlet chooses to study in the more subdued atmosphere of Whittenburg. There is also a difference in the way that both men react to the death of their fathers. Upon learning of his father's death, Laertes immediately allows his grievances to be known and chooses to go strait to the arena for his revenge. Hamlet chooses a more peculiar approach...
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the theme of revenge is very palpable as the reader examines the characters of Hamlet himself, as well as Laertes, son of Polonius, and Fortinbras, prince of Norway and son of the late King Fortinbras. Each of these young characters felt the need to avenge the deaths of their fathers who they felt were untimely killed at the bloody hands of their murderers. However, the way each chose to go about this varies greatly and gives insight into their characters and how they progress throughout the play. Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras are similar in the fact that each had love, or at least respect, their fathers. Enough to make an attempt to wreak revenge upon their fathers murderers at the risk of their own reputation, freedom, and souls.
Horatio is Shakespeare's utilitarian character. Horatio serves as a foil to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, prompts Hamlet to disclose his feelings, gives vital information in the form of exposition (verbal or in a letter) or verification of Hamlet's reality, and helps to build the suspense of the play. The only emotional aspect of his character is that he remains alive, and serves as a vehicle for Shakespeare's moral of Hamlet.
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the character Horatio plays a quintessential role in gaining a deeper understanding on the perplexing tragic hero, Hamlet, from the perspective he has about him. Horatio’s sensible ideology becomes apparent as he takes on the role of the spokesman of common sense, attempting to advise the stubborn tragic hero about his destructive journey towards revenge. Additionally, because of the true friendship Horatio presents Hamlet, it leads him to confide in Horatio about his secrets and plans, thus highlighting his essential role in bringing out Hamlet’s true intentions. Hamlet’s death becomes more meaningful as a result of Horatio’s approval of Hamlet and the devotion he shows Hamlet until the end, which
Laertes, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He was all action and no talk. A very headstrong character, he was rash and let his emotions make his decisions for him. an example of this is when he finds out about his father's death, he immediately assumes it was Claudius and enters the castle by force, fully intending on killing him. This is what Hamlet needs to be like, but only in moderation. Sometimes, when the time calls for it, you must act on instinct, without having to think it through for a couple of days. Hamlet didn't want to be brash and end up getting killed like Laertes did, but then again, Laertes did avenge his father's death a lot faster than Hamlet did. And in spite of all the thinking and planning, Hamlet still ended up the same way that Laertes did.
Horatio's role in Hamlet is minor, however he serves two purposes central to the drama. Horatio provides the truth. It is through Horatio that the actions taken by Hamlet and other characters gain credibility. He is the outside observer to the madness. Hamlet could soliloquize to no end, but it is his conversations with Horatio that ground the play in reality. Horatio believes Hamlet and thus we have permission to believe. He sees the Ghost and so we can believe that Hamlet has seen the Ghost. If Horatio were not there, Hamlet's sanity would truly be in doubt.
Horatio’s minor role is vital to the story of Hamlet. He does not add anything to the plot of the play and instead acts as the voice of common sense. Horatio is an outside observer to the madness that ensues after the murder of King Hamlet. All of Hamlet’s soliloquies revolve around irrational speculations about death and decay. However, Hamlet’s conversation with Horatio ground the play in reality. In those conversations, Hamlet reveals his feelings to his closest friend. Horatio is the only one Hamlet can come talk to about what is going on in his life.
"Laertes is a mirror to Hamlet. Shakespeare has made them similar in many aspects to provide a greater base for comparison when avenging their respective fathers' deaths" (Nardo, 90). Both Hamlet and Laertes love Ophelia in different ways. Hamlet wishes Ophelia to become his wife, Laertes loves Ophelia as a sister. Hamlet is a scholar at Wittenberg; Laertes is also a scholar at France. Both were brought up under this royal family of Denmark. And both are admired for their swordsmenship. But most important of all, both of them loved and respected their fathers greatly, and showed great devotion when plotting to avenge their fathers' deaths.
Each man deals with grief in extremely distinct manners, when looking at Laertes in comparison to Hamlet you can swiftly see their great contrast to one another. Hamlet would rather create reason before madness; he is the type to use his brain before his fist. Whereas Laertes is always caught up in his anger that he sees no means to absolve the actions of others.
William Shakespeare's tragic play, Hamlet, has many characters that are involved with the story. However, some characters observe more than others. One of these characters is Horatio. In the play Hamlet, Horatio is the person Hamlet wants to become, he enforces the theme of loyalty, and gives credibility to what is happening.